By Sandra Bruderer (ERNI Switzerland)
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, and Artificial Intelligence are rapidly and fundamentally transforming digital banking. In this article, we look at how RPA, a key technology in the banking sector, mimics human interactions to automate data-intensive tasks efficiently and cost-effectively.
In a nutshell: RPA
An RPA software robot is not a physical robot, but a piece of software. This software imitates human interaction to automate the processing of large to very large amounts of data in an uncomplicated and cost-effective way.
Objectives of RPA
RPA logs into an application like a human bank employee, reads data and transfers it to the right place. The digital employee can access the user interfaces of software systems. This means that a new integration does not have to be created for each sub-process – the RPA simply builds on the IT structure.
On the one hand, the use of RPA enables massive cost savings and increases in productivity. On the other hand, relieving employees of unpopular routine tasks leads to a better working atmosphere and greatly minimises human error. Ultimately, the bank’s customers also benefit from faster and better services.
Areas of application for RPA
RPA is often used by itself in the core processes of banks, especially in back-end processes. However, it is possible to extend automation to all business processes.
Intelligent automation (IA) combines RPA with artificial intelligence (AI). Together, their full potential is unfolded in process automation. This enables full integration into processes.
The combination of AI and RPA opens up almost unlimited possibilities for automating processes. A robot equipped with AI can work with unstructured data, recognise spoken language and even apply machine learning with ease.
This leads to both the automation of repetitive processes and the automation of cognitive processes. Some typical use cases in the application of RPA with AI:
- Chatbots
- Process mining (understanding and improving business processes)
- Automatic extraction of information from documents
Further optimisation of your banking processes: How can it be achieved?
The use of AI with RPA enables banks to take innovative approaches and improve efficiency from customer service to risk management. Possible fields of application:
- Credit card business (fraud detection)
- Know Your Customer processes (KYC)
- Recognising cyber attacks
- Checking mortgage and loan applications
- Marketing analysis
- Reading customer emails
We focus on possible fields of application in the front and back office as well as in compliance:
| Front Office | Back Office | Compliance |
| Chat and Talkbots | Credit management | Money laundering prevention |
| Financing review (credit limits/mortgages) | Risk management | KYC processes |
| Liquidity planning | Transaction monitoring | Data quality assurance |
| Robo Advisor | Fraud prevention | Risk identification |
Your benefits from RPA combined with AI
This list is not exhaustive, as the potential of processes that combine RPA with AI is constantly expanding. For example, for the shared offices of a bank:
- Controlling
- Accounting
- Compliance
- Marketing
Using the example of bank accounting in particular:
- Your benefit: The automation of accounts receivable processes saves costs and is a common use case for RPA in the financial sector. By digitising workflows and consolidating data from different sources, RPA tools offer greater speed and precision in tasks such as invoicing and creating reminders.
- Increased productivity: RPA-automated bots can effortlessly send payment reminders, recognise payment arrears and integrate supplier data into accounts receivable systems.
- Significant cost reduction: With the prospect of cost reductions for processes in the shared office or specifically in accounts receivable accounting, this technological change opens up extremely attractive prospects for many banks.
Today’s digitally savvy bank customers expect innovative and customer-centric services, just as they do in other industries. RPA, with or without AI, helps to meet these expectations by personalising the customer experience, ensuring 24/7 availability and enabling proactive customer service.
Discover how we work with you to improve the customer experience with financial and insurance services.